List of Android apps I always find myself going back to/can't live without

So a friend of mine just recently purchased his first android phone.  With my advice he went with a google galaxy nexus which if you know me you know I just traded my Razr maxx for a galaxy nexus the other day.  I had to re download all of my apps for the new phone and since I recently got a galaxy tab 10.1 I also had to re download for that as well.  Point of that is I'm pretty familiar with what I use on the regular and need to survive.  That being said I'll also be including at least 1 tablet only app which will cut out a good deal of my phone apps. Just so you know this is not  reviews its a list. I'll also tell you what other hardware I'm rockin'! Game on!

Hardware: Samsung Galaxy Nexus (CDMA Verizon) phone, Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1 WiFi tablet, and HP Pavilion dv6 computer.



Tablet Apps: I decided to start with this because it will make most of my phone apps obsolete (most are camera effect apps)

Photoshop Touch - photo editing app



Phone Apps: What you've been waiting for... Quite a few are paid but it will give you an idea of free ones

8tracks - great music app that couples with a web page good for mixes and discovering new bands
AfterFocus Pro - Photo Editor, lite version available
Amazon Mobile - For all your shopping needs
App Cache Cleaner - exactly what it says
Amazon App Store - free app of the day is mostly crap but sometimes you get lucky
APW (Widgets) - Great set of widgets that I use just for the calendar widget
Atooma (Private Beta) - its a private beta but its worth requesting an invite. It creates functions EX: I have a night time function to where between certain hours the ringer is off
Baby Connect(activity logger) - keeps track of your baby's entire life from crappy diapers to pictures per day to growth charts... I was floored. Best purchase of an app ever.
Big Oven - Recipes and lots of them
Call Control Call Blocker - call blocker for those pesky telemarketers
Cam Scanner - Turns your phone into a scanner
Cerberus - The single best theft defense on the planet.  Pony up the dough its sooooooo worth it I'll be doing a review on this later on in the week. (yes its that impressive)
Chrome  - Chrome web browser by google... need I say more?
Android Classifieds - awesome craigslist app to post and review postings!
Current Caller ID (by Whitepages) - Awesome Caller ID with some good info about who you call/text/etc includes awesome widget
Currents (by Google) - Great news/blog reader
Cymera - Really good photo editor/camera
Dead Trigger - Awesome Game about shooting Zombies and Such
Dish Network Remote Access - This only works if you have dish but allows you to watch dish from your phone/tablet
Ebay - If you don't know about ebay you need not be here you need to be learning about the Internet in general
Emit - Stream your movies/music from your computer to your phone (tested but not thorough yet)
Evernote/Evernote Widget - A note taker and a great deal more! Its a must...
Files Anywhere - Files on a server that actually allows you to Fax from your phone
Fotodanz - Gif maker that's pretty impressive
GifBoom - Another gif maker
Google+ - Social media at its best.  The only reason this is on the list is I'm not sure it comes standard on all phones but it should.
Grocery IQ - Grocery app that allows you to sync with others which is why me and my wife love it
Hipster - Camera App/Social Media think instagram but called hipster (honestly I like it more but not as many people use it)
Instagram - Camera App/Social Media
Key Ring - All of those annoying cards on your key chain put in one place on a phone forever so get rid of those cards people! + sweet widget (its an ugly widget but useful)
Mint.com - to keep all of your finances in line in one simple app.  VERY useful though I still find myself using my actual bank app every now and then
Netflix - Yeah awesome to watch on slow days at work or on a car ride.
One More Clock Widget - A great clock widget that has many nice options
Paper Camera - Fun camera/video app
Pittsburgh Penguins Mobile - My Penguins fix
Perfectly Clear - image correction software
Phonto - Allows you to write on photos, I got it for the font options
PhotoWonder - Photo Editor
PicsArt - Photo Studio/Editor
Pixler-O-Matic - Photo Editor (if you only get one get this one)
Pocket - Saving things on the web to read later
Power Toggles - Toggles as far as the eye can see
Pulse - News/Blog reader
QR Pro - make qr codes, scan qr and bar codes
Scope - Social Media app, consolidates all and puts them in one app that's easy to navigate
Shoebox - Scan old photos and keep them on the web.  Its great for people who grew up before the digital camera
Sleep Time - Great alarm clock that wakes you up at the perfect time... weird but its awesome
Slice - Keep all of those purchases organized and see on a map where exactly they are in route
Smart Tools - A handyman's dream an all in one bundle.  You can also get all of these 1 by 1
Sport TV - For those "less than televised" sporting events also look for sport tv nfl for nfl sports
Tapatalk - Forum app for all of those awesome sites like android central or xda developers get on those forums people!!!!!
The Pensblog - Penguin fix 2
Where's My Droid - Extra protection for theft... actually helped my wife get her stolen phone back a year ago and its only gotten better since!
Zedge - Ring tones Wallpapers etc
Utorrent Remote - Remotely keep track of files downloading, pause, or add new torrents to your computer at home! Its been buggy lately but I'm sure a fix is in the works so its quite awesome.

So folks there you have it my list of must haves.  That is by no means my whole app collection as I do have a problem and keep downloading them.  I must confess I'm a live background junkie as well so maybe a post on that in the future. Hopefully this is a good start for some of you out there so get started and android your face off!!!!!!!

Short review of Luma live background for Android

Luma is a great little background I found in the play store today that I was pretty impressed by as far as options and all. Luma comes with a standard few (actually a lot) backgrounds and it also allows you to customize and make your own. There are a few holiday themed ones which I'll admit I'm a sucker for and a few nice ambient looking cool backgrounds. My favorite ones for my phone are the starships and the space ones but on the tablet I like to keep it a little less sharp as far as graphics go. The only thing I wish you could do would be add your own custom picture to the background. So all in all its worth a look, not too crazy not to plain.
Final score: 3.4/5

Shortest review of Adobe Photoshop Touch for tablets ever...

Publisher: Adobe
This is an app I couldn't wait to try. I'm a big fan of the desktop version but not a fan of the small Photoshop express app which is nothing special what so ever.  The price tag is pretty steep but I'll touch on that in a second. I'm familiar with how to work the desktop version so this should be easy right? Little did I know how easy. This has almost all of the functionality of the desktop version but on a tablet so you can use a stylus or your finger to draw, do corrections, select areas, etc. 
Most people are not like me in terms of loving html, coding, graphical work, etc so the awesome thing about this is the tutorials. You have quite a few to show you how to do some sweet stuff. Anyone could pick this up and do it. The tutorials themselves are actually fun and keep you going as well. if you're into simple stuff that looks good it comes with effects built in. The price tag of $9.99 seems step but considering the price for actual Photoshop this is the deal of a lifetime. I suggest anyone with a tablet pick it up its far exceeded my expectations.
Final score: 5/5 (probably the only perfect score I'll ever give)

15 Minute Review of NHL13 at my computer While at work Ducking my boss so I can Blog...

Publisher: EA Sports

THIS IS NOT AN ANDROID GAME! For XBOX360, PS3, and probably PC etc

The winner of 23 sports game of the year awards so it shouldn't be surprising that this game is everything I could have wanted from the next installment in the already stellar NHL series from EA Sports.  The graphics and game play have been improved with subtle little pieces which make a HUGE difference.  One such difference is the total control skating I believe its called.  Players skate like they would in real life.  If you get someone that's a fast skater in real life that has a huge burst of speed from their first few strides you will have that in the game and chances are you'll have a break away and a great 1 on 1 opportunity. The downside to this is if you have someone that's not as strong of a skater and you try to make a quick turn going at top speed you'll either wipe out or have to take a very slow longer turn just like in real life.  This adds so much more to the game than before.  When I played the demo I was killing it on break aways.  After having played the actual game a while i'm learning more and more of what you can do with the skating aspect (like backwards skating for crazy shots in the crease).

Skating isn't the only update to this game this year.  They kind of went the route of listening to complaints and fixing that first.  I've noticed more realistic poke checks, passing, shooting etc.  A large gripe I had before was the predictable goalies.  If you shot from a single point you could score almost every time.  These goalies in 13 are monsters.  Dazzling save after dazzling save.  These guys crush your hopes and dreams on the regular but they also have faults just like real goalies so its way more realistic.  The graphics took a step up the ice looks incredible.  The winter classic is probably the best looking part of the game.  Every camera angle during breaks look like live television (angle wise that is).

This year introduced a new game mode that I have just now as of last night dove headfirst into, GM Mode Connected.  Which this is pretty much the exact same as GM mode but online with others in your league which is the exact thing I said I wanted when NHL12 came out.  I've thrown out the invites as I have my fantasy league on yahoo (to everyone I know who even somewhat enjoys anything about hockey).  So I'm hoping to have a thriving league soon i'll be checking that later today. All of the other game modes are still there like shootout, vs, team play, be a pro, be a legend, gm mode, HUT, etc.

This game should appeal to everyone even if you don't like hockey or sports games its just really fun.  You'll be hooked the first time you check a guy so hard into the boards the glass shatters.  Its amazing in every way ! So to be corny NHL13 shoots and Scores!

Final Score:  4.9/5

15 minute review of Blood and Glory: Legend

First a little history...
This is a third game in the series (technically).  The other two being blood and glory and blood and glory nr (nr stands for not rated) .  I first learned of these games a while back the first was awesome (b&g) with my love for anything Roman history etc and the fact Spartacus just had the second season come out I was pretty stoked to get into the game. After about a week I found the not rated version and it was all over.  So its no surprise I'm reviewing the latest installment Legend.
Legend is an entirely different story because it actually has a story.  Its about an arena warrior (gladiator) and his quest to kill a very important guy. I'll leave the rest for you to find out. The sorry is delivered like a comic which really adds something great to this game. Maybe its me but I don't think it could have the same drive any other way. So as the comic goes you fight through many tournaments and bosses to reach the head honcho.
Game play is pretty fast paced is very easy at first but gets very hard later on. The controls are very simple you swipe to attack and press on either arrow to move out of the way. You have block and parry as well. This should be easy enough that anyone can pick it up and have a good time with it even more advanced gamers will still find it challenging after a while.
The game has in app purchases and some coin and money multipliers if you don't wish to purchase anything. You can get all kinds of power UPS but one that's different than the original is an amulet. After each fight you unlock a new amulet with specific powers and you can use any of them for power ups either during or after the match. These amulets can be purchased as well.
I have been addicted to this game since the first and while this one is basically the same the new features and story keep it fun after what 3 years I believe. Hopefully more updates will come as I'm almost finished with the game. When all is said and done...
Final score: 4.3/5
Play store link : here

15 minutes to write a review of dead trigger...

First of this it's written from a phone in 15 minutes please take note of screaming child and appointment in 15. All grammatical errors are predictive text.
Dead trigger is a first person zombie shooter with great graphics and fun game play. Controls are simple and work well though i did find myself using my secondary item while trying to aim.
The story line is simple, the world is done for yada yada yada we are the only survivors yada yada yada kill zombies... Weapons are plentiful as well as money to buy new weapons/items. In game purchases are a go as well. So this should be hours of fun. New arena challenges you by sending endless hordes at you to see how long you can last.
Stuff that sucks about this game lies within the story and levels. You basically play 3 missions over and over again within the same few places nothing different. The story is crap and there isn't any working of the characters into the actual game play.
All in all i still find myself playing this game daily so that has to count for something right?
Final score: 3.8/5